Contribution of Family-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program to Attitude and Self-efficacy of Mothers Trained by Mental Health Facilitators

Family plays a key role in the prevention and intervention of drug abuse among children and teenagers. Information about drugs provides parents with the exact knowledge on how to demonstrate attitudes and healthy behaviours. Therefore, the present study tried to investigate the effect of preventive and interventional trainings on self-efficacy and attitudes of mothers covered by mental health facilitators (MHFs) in this regard. This interventional study used case and control groups/pretest-posttest design. Based on the inclusion criteria, randomized sampling, and sample size formulation, 150 qualified mothers were recruited. Eligible participants were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. A researcher-designed and self-administered questionnaire was used to gather the required data. Six instructive, communicative oral sessions and individual interviews were held by the facilitators for case group members. After two months, attitudes and self-efficacy of the mothers toward drug abuse issues were measured again by the same questionnaire. The results showed that the difference in intervention and control group was significant in terms of increasing self-efficacy and modifying attitudes (p<0.001). Furthermore, the case group members reported less misconceptions, stigma, and ignorance toward those suffering from addiction.